The price of oil fell Thursday after data showed that inventories of crude continued to rise in early April. Benchmark oil for May delivery was down 17 cents to $94.47 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract finished up …

The Florida parents charged with kidnapping their boys from their grandparents and sailing to Cuba on a boat called “Salty” to elude authorities are facing a judge for the first time since they were forcibly returned from the island nation. Joshua and Sharyn Hakken make their first appearance in court …

“Django Unchained” became “Django Unscreened” on Thursday as Quentin Tarantino’s violent slave-revenge saga was pulled from Chinese theaters on its opening day due to an unspecified technical problem. The rare suspension order by importer China Film Group Corporation was confirmed by theater employees throughout China, and has led to speculation …

As neighboring nations kept a close eye on missile movements in North Korea, people in the country’s capital began celebrating a series of April holidays, including the anniversary Thursday of their leader’s appointment as head of the ruling Worker’s Party. Bracing for what South Korea’s foreign minister warned could be …

Strong sales of new cancer drugs and a severe U.S. flu season helped lift Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG’s revenue by 6 percent in the first quarter. The world’s biggest manufacturer of cancer drugs said Thursday that sales rose to 11.56 billion Swiss francs ($12.4 billion) during the first …

It’s a call that firefighters routinely respond to — a report of a medical emergency. But when five firefighters answered one in a neighborhood north of Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said, they encountered an armed man who demanded that his cable and power be turned back on at the …

Students, parents and community advocates are urging Connecticut lawmakers to provide what they call fair funding to public charter schools. Advocates say education reform approved last year called for annual increases of $500 a student in charter school spending for the next three budget years. It was supposed to bring …

The Syrian regime has carried out indiscriminate and sometimes deliberate airstrikes against civilians that have killed at least 4,300 people since last summer and that amount to war crimes, an international human rights group said Thursday. Human Rights Watch said Syrian fighter jets have deliberately targeted bakeries, breadlines and hospitals …

After a new and lethal strain of bird flu emerged in Shanghai two weeks ago, the government of China’s bustling financial capital responded with live updates on a Twitter-like microblog. It’s a starkly different approach than a decade ago, when Chinese officials silenced reporting as a deadly pneumonia later known …

Mark Webber is unsure if he will remain with Red Bull next season, saying it is too early to make a call on his future following the Malaysian team orders controversy. Teammate Sebastian Vettel ignored team orders at the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix and passed Webber in the closing …

Almost anybody who works in an office has grown accustomed to the glow of fluorescent tubes providing light from overhead. Now Royal Philips NV says it has developed a working prototype of a lamp it says will confine the fluorescent bulb to the recycling bin of history. The Dutch company …

At first, many locals took to calling Troy James Knapp the mountain man. Even victims of his many cabin break-ins marveled over his ability to slip back into the woods and evade authorities over six years. But on Wednesday, as the trim 45-year-old whom police characterize as a reclusive survivalist …

The trial of a Georgia businesswoman on federal charges of paying bribes to a former superintendent of schools in Greenville, Miss., has been rescheduled for July 22. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marshall Alexander tells the Delta Democrat Times (http://bit.ly/10UKuW5 ) that the defense needed more time to prepare for trial. …

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has offered to resign because of an increasingly bitter dispute with President Mahmoud Abbas over the extent of his authority, officials said Thursday. Abbas has not responded to Fayyad, who enjoys the support of the international community, particularly the United States. It’s not clear if …

In his world of pretense, the little man in spectacles became many fabulous people from royalty to a Rockefeller until his charades finally ended with a conviction under his true name — Christian Gerhartsreiter — a German immigrant guilty of a cold case murder. A jury found Wednesday that the …

Several Atlanta organizations that provide assistance to immigrants are planning an event to help people apply for citizenship. The naturalization drive is set for April 20 at the Latin American Association in Atlanta. Immigration attorneys will be on hand to offer free legal consultations and assistance to lawful permanent residents …

The trial of a Georgia businesswoman on federal charges of paying bribes to a former superintendent of schools in Greenville, Miss., has been rescheduled for July 22. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marshall Alexander tells the Delta Democrat Times (http://bit.ly/10UKuW5) that the defense needed more time to prepare for trial. Alexander …

Researchers at Michigan State University’s College of Nursing will explore ways to help cancer patients use chemotherapy drugs at home using $2.5 million in two federal grants. The university says cancer patients are now able to receive chemotherapy treatment by taking pills at home. But the instructions for the new …

Three Georgia organizations are among 14 set to split $60,000 in grand funding from the charitable arm of an international insurance company. The QBE Foundation has announced the Brain Tumor Foundation of Atlanta, the Camp Dream Foundation of Georgia, and The Extension — a Marietta organization offering support for chemical …

A new study points to pressure on North Carolina workers by illustrating big declines in company-provided health insurance. The study released Thursday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Minnesota health policy researchers shows North Carolina had one of the biggest double-digit drops in workers covered by employer-sponsored …